Richard “Dick” Walsh shuffles through the halls and cafeteria often pausing to pick through a trash can or to crack a joke with a passing teacher or student. His unassuming frame carries a long history of hard work and passion for ARHS. He is a man who has spent 61 of his 83 years contributing to Algonquin’s legacy.

After retiring from a long career as a coach, teacher, and administrator at ARHS, Walsh has spent a large portion of the day inside the school building doing various assigned and volunteer duties including opening the school each morning and helping with clean up in the cafeteria during lunches.

After meeting with superintendent Christine Johnson and Business Director Cheryl Levesque on September 18, Walsh was, for the most part, restricted from the building during school hours and reassigned to athletics-based weekend and after school duties. Students and teachers past and present responded en masse to the recent abrupt change of Walsh’s duties within the building.

The community’s passionate response to Walsh’s brief absence emphasized his value to the school because of not only his history with athletics, but also his commitment to ARHS as a whole.

“I thought it [support for Walsh]  was touching; it was a very nice recognition of his long, long service here, and that is nice when the community recognizes that kind of commitment and contribution to the school,” Principal Tom Mead said.

After one week of restricted duties, Walsh’s role has been adjusted to allow him some responsibilities in the building during the school day. According to Walsh, he is now able to volunteer in the cafeteria before school until 8:30 and during lunch to help the custodial staff.

“It feels a lot better than not being here at all,” Walsh said.

“We work with our faculty to find the place where they can best make their contribution,” Mead said. “So it was in the spirit of that that this shift of his day to day contributions was made.”

After Walsh’s initially restricted duties, many students and faculty members were saddened by no longer seeing Walsh throughout the building during the course of the school day.

“Every time you walk the halls you just assume you are going to see him [Walsh], you assume you are going to see him having conversations with kids and faculty members,” applied arts and technology teacher Nicole Ruffo said.

Faculty members shared that they value Walsh for many reasons.

“He is such a selfless person, and I think, in many ways, that he is the heart and soul of this place, and it did not feel right that he could not be in the building,” social studies teacher Stephen Godbout said.  “He is our identity; he is Algonquin, and to have him not in the building just did not feel right. In all my years here, you always knew he was here somewhere, but his presence was missed, although he is back now a little so that is good.”

“His presence in the building is not only important for what happens in the cafe, but he is someone who gets to know the students and the staff,” drama teacher Maura Morrison said.  “He is a real fixture in our school and it is his humor that people look forward to.”

Walsh worked as a physical education teacher for 23 years and then became Athletic Director in 1971.  He coached football for 23 years and baseball for 10 years.  He has been responsible for building supervision on non-school days since 1959.

Until recently, many students were unaware of Walsh’s long history at ARHS. Since his retirement in 1995, Walsh could often be seen going through the trash during lunches and picking out aluminum cans and food which led to misconceptions by some of the student body who saw his actions as peculiar.

Walsh, in fact, gives the food scraps to his two beloved dogs and recycles the aluminum cans for the deposit money, which he keeps until a new project needs funding at Algonquin.

“I used to never know what Mr. Walsh was doing with the cans, but when I heard that he donated all the money that he got from them to the school I thought that was really cool and I think the cafeteria definitely felt different without him,” senior Meaghan Kane said.

Many students know that the stadium field is named after Walsh, but this is not the only contribution he has made to the athletics facilities.

“We had a lousy track and I was going to retire after forty years, and my wife said that we will have a big party for you and I said, ‘If you have a party for me I will not be there,’ because I hate that kind of stuff,” Walsh explained. “So we made an agreement with the school committee that if they put a new track out there, they can name the field after me, but I did not want to do that either. The reason they named the field after me was because of that.  It is not named for [me] because I want it to be named for me.”

Walsh also contributed significantly to the ticket booth.

“A couple of years ago, there is a class in the industrial arts that builds things, so I told the guy in charge down there that we need a new ticket booth,” Walsh said.  “So I said if you guys build a ticket booth I will pay for the wood.  So I paid for the wood and the new ticket booth was built by the kids.”

Walsh still has plans he would like to accomplish for the future of Algonquin.

“I would like to put something out by the field, let’s say between the two soccer fields, that is a shelter,” Walsh said.  “That way if older people want to watch games, or if it rains they can use that.  That would be a goal that I have to accomplish before they put me in the ground.”

Walsh’s impacts stretch far beyond the athletics facilities.

“He would go see a play, he would go to an event like a variety show or lip sync if he was around that late at night, he would do the senior cookout, so it was not just sports.  I think that a lot of people think it is just sports, but it was everything,” Ruffo said. “He just loved to see the kids involved and he knew so many kids by name because he got to know kids on a personal level.”

“I think his unconditional support for everything within the school is what makes him so special,” English teacher Emily Philbin said.

Although he retired from teaching long ago, many continue to learn from Walsh.

“Work hard and be humble, that is what I have learned from him, and that is what I hope the kids have learned from him,” Godbout said.

“He has always been around and he teaches students, faculty members, and staff an important lesson and it is called dedication and being dedicated to a cause.  I think that has made for his biggest impact,” Ruffo said.

For many members of the Algonquin community Walsh “bleeds maroon and gold.”

“I am happy to be back because this is the place to be,” Walsh said.

Square dancing in gym class:

“The best thing we ever did in gym class was square dancing. Mrs. Perry and I taught square dancing, and we said pick your partner and if you don’t pick them, we’ll pick them. I did the calling of the square dancing with Mrs. Perry, and everybody loved it after a while. It was the best thing we ever did.”

ARHS’s first football season:

“When we first started, the year we [Algonquin] opened, our fields weren’t ready to play so we had to go to Memorial Field to practice because that’s where Northborough High played. The first game ever played at Algonquin was the Thanksgiving game in 1959, and they let us play on our field.”

Cows on the baseball fields:

“This used to be a farm, and when the school opened the farm was still there where the cross country trails are. When we used to play baseball on the fields the cows would come and walk by and the other team would go and say, ‘Oh you guys are a bunch of hicks!’ because we were out in the booneys.”

Yes, I’m still alive:

“The first class that graduated from here was 1960, and when we had that class come back for the 50th reunion, I was still here and I was the only one still here! When they came they toured the building, which is so different from then, and some of my football players were there, and they came back and they go ‘Oh you’re still here, you’re still alive?’ but yes I was still alive! It was nice to see some of the people I had in school 50 years ago.”

How we became T-hawks:

“The members of the student council from Northborough and Southborough got together and helped name the school, and did the school colors, the nicknames; the kids did it all with some help from advisers and that’s how it all came to be. The first year I taught in 1955 in Southborough, the senior class had 9 boys 9 girls so you get to know them pretty well. We have grown a lot over the years.”

In honor of his 90th birthday on Dec. 5, Algonquin icon and mainstay Richard “Dick” Walsh reflected on his 68 years as a coach, teacher and volunteer at ARHS.

How does it feel to turn 90?

“To me, it’s just another birthday. I know I will continue to get up every day at four in the morning and come here. I have always had some sort of ‘pattern’ for my days, like I did with coaching, which I like to stick to.”

How do you plan to celebrate your 90th birthday this weekend?

“I don’t like big parties. When I retired, my wife wanted to throw me a party, but I said, ‘You can have a party, but I won’t be there.’ Anyway, my four kids are going to try to come to my house, and we are just going to have a little celebration.”

You were a long-time physical education teacher, football and baseball coach and athletic director, and you have remained dedicated to Algonquin since your official retirement. What has kept you coming back to ARHS every day?

“I just love it here. I like the kids, the teachers and the facility. I always have to be doing something, so when I retired, I sat down with the superintendent and asked what I could do to still be involved here.”

How has Algonquin changed over the years?

“I think that our school spirit and communication has changed the most. I don’t have a phone or computer, but I know those are a large part of school now in many aspects.”

What has stayed the same?

“I think the kids have stayed the same. Even though there are so many things happening in their lives, like being house-bound from COVID-19, they haven’t changed at all. I’ve actually been really pleased with the way they have been acting in the cafeteria, because as you know, I’m here every day. But, I think they handle everything going on in their lives very well.”

What are some of your best memories as a teacher and a coach?

“The year we won the championship in football. That was the only undefeated team in the history of my time as a coach here, so it was a good moment to win that championship. I have so many memories, but that one definitely stands out because a lot of those kids on the team have come back to see me.”

How did it feel to have the football field and track dedicated to you?

“Like I said, when I retired, my wife wanted to have a big party for me. I didn’t want the party so I asked, ‘Instead of the party, how about a nice, new track?’ and we got it. So, they decided to name the field and track after me. Now, my next goal would be to get a turf field because we are one of the only schools that doesn’t have one.”

What might students be surprised to learn about you?

“I went to high school in Boston, at Boston Latin School for all boys, where I took four languages. Every day, I took the [train to school] from where I lived in Dorchester, and I think I learned more on the train than I did in school. Coming from Dorchester to Northborough was a real shock, but I ended up loving it here.”

What are your hopes for Algonquin in the future?

“I hope we can keep bringing the school together. The students have gone through many changes these past few years, and it’s tough for the kids to keep up with. I would like to see some consistency because it will not only help the kids but the teachers too.”

Students, faculty, and administration dressed in maroon and gold to commemorate and honor Dick Walsh on September 28. After 61 years of teaching, coaching, and mentoring Walsh will no longer have an active role in the ARHS building during the school day.

“He stands alone in the number of years he has devoted to this school and that is significant… He was a part time employee but a full time mascot for Algonquin,” Principal Tom Mead said.

Social studies teacher Gina Johnston organized a faculty meeting outside the rotunda to create a video and take pictures for Walsh. Teachers held banners that thanked Walsh for his years of service to the school.

“He has touched more lives than people would ever realize,” Johnston said. “[I organized this event] just to show him we miss him already and that he means a lot to us.”

Walsh is commonly known for funding the track in back of the school and having his name on the scoreboard in the football stadium but he is also remembered for the lasting impressions he has left on individuals and to the school as a whole.

“The exchanges between him and the students were wonderful to watch,” Assistant Principal Mel Laughton said. “You could see the respect and admiration the kids had for him.”

Not only was Walsh a confidant to students but also an adviser to many teachers throughout the school. Economics teacher Nicole Ruffo expressed the enduring effect Walsh has had on her.

“Mr. Walsh has been a mentor to me for over sixteen years,” Ruffo said. “He has an unbelievable work ethic and great love for the Algonquin community.”

In his years teaching, Walsh has done a broad spectrum of services to the school. He was a coach, a teacher, and the athletic director for many years. But in the eyes of students and faculty he was Algonquin’s biggest fan.

“He is pretty much the ultimate super fan,” senior George Gu said. “He showed up to all the sporting events and showed up to school everyday before six. He is such an influential figure. [He is] someone who takes his own time to make the school a better place.”

Students and faculty have responded passionately after learning that Walsh will no longer be a constant fixture in the building. However, he will be remembered and missed for many generations to come.

“Someone who has made this much of an impact for over sixty years will be greatly missed,” Ruffo said. “Mr. Walsh is Algonquin. He probably bleeds the colors maroon and gold. He is a man of integrity and loyalty, and who wouldn’t want to honor him?”

(Article updated Oct. 1 2015)